DAR, DTI, AND DA JOIN HANDS FOR BOLINAO ARBO IMPROVEMENT

February 26, 2021, 6:02 pm

A MOMENT IN HISTORY. Members of Bolinao-based Catuday Agrarian Reform Beneficiary stand together with representatives from the Department of Agrarian Reform Pangasinan, the Department of Trade and Industry Pangasinan, and the Department of Agriculture Regional Office I after a productive day of consultation and training.

BOLINAO, PANGASINAN – The provincial offices of the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Regional Office I of the Department of Agriculture visit Bolinao-based Catuday Agrarian Reform Cooperative for separate activities—but ultimately for the sole agenda of supporting the agrarian reform beneficiary organization (ARBO).

DAR and DTI are partners in implementing the comprehensive agrarian reform program (CARP), which includes, among many others, the promotion of landless farmers' and farmworkers' welfare through entrepreneurship and rural development. The two agencies arranged for a product development training for the ARBO, whose members are engaged in peanut farming.

"Under CARP program ng DTI, ang mandato natin is matulungan ang maliliit na asosasyon at kooperatiba para magkaroon sila ng income-generating project," Senior Trade-Industry Development Specialist Regeon Abalos explained.

As proven in previous DAR-DTI partnerships, processing raw materials gives these more product and market value.

"Kapag nagawhan ng ibang produkto 'yung mani, halimbawa into peanut brittle, mas malaki 'yung value niya at makilala pa yung ARBO. Kasi meron silang produkto na nanggagaling mismo sa kanilang taniman," Product Development Focal Person ARPO II Florida Lafuente of DAR Pangasinan added.

With the power of the three agencies, Catuday ARC hopes to develop a micro-enterprise utilizing peanut, a crop that most of its 92 members plant at least once a year. Having three national government agencies converge on this day is, for the ARBO, a moment in history.

Simultaneous to the product development training is the consultation of DAR and DA Region I with officers of Catuday ARC. Under the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), the ARBO is being prepared for farm mechanization. Being a recipient of a farm tractor from DA-PRDP in 2016, the group is a candidate this year for a grant that will be used to upgrade their facilities.Catuday ARC presented their business proposal to DA, represented by Roda Galvan.

Bolinao Municipal Agriculture Officer Paquita Beltran-Estrella expressed her gratitude to the three agencies, noting that the overwhelming support drives farmers to work harder.

"I'm happy today dahil andito tayong three agencies ngayon. It's my first time na andito kami na magsasama-sama," she said. "Nagiging active na sila. Naitatanim na nila kung anong gusto nilang maitanim bukod sa rice at corn. Andito na rin ang peanut."In 2019, the ARBO was awarded with four engine pumps, a peanut seeder and planter, a peanut harvester, and a peanut sheller machine, under the Sustainable Livelihood Support for Disaster-Affected Areas of the Climate-Resilient Farm Productivity Support (SLSDAA-CRFPS) Project of DAR. Farmer-members carry the knowledge from the trainings and use the farm machinery for their peanut farming to this day.

With the power of the DAR, DTI, and DA, members of Catuday ARC hope to have their own microenterprise, provide employment to local farmers, and inspire other farmer groups to pave their way to success. (ZA/ARPT)

2024 Department of Agrarian Reform.